simpleminded

or sim·ple-mind·ed

[ sim-puhl-mahyn-did, -mahyn- ]

adjective

1. free of deceit or guile; artless or unsophisticated.
2. lacking in mental acuteness or sense.

   Synonyms: half-witted, dull-witted, slow, foolish, stupid

3. mentally deficient.

   Synonyms: half-witted, dull-witted, slow, foolish, stupid

Other Words From

• simple·minded·ly adverb
• simple·minded·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of simpleminded¹

First recorded in 1735–45; simple + minded

Example Sentences

Weizenbaum warned that the “reckless anthropomorphization of the computer” — that is, treating it as some sort of thinking companion — had produced a “simpleminded view ... of intelligence.”

From Los Angeles Times

The story of a good-looking blond buck from Texas fired with simpleminded dreams of making it as a stud hustler in Manhattan could easily have become another of the gamy sexual permutations which the screen is so earnestly examining for us these days.

From Los Angeles Times

“Why would we raise pigs here?” he responded, incredulous at my simpleminded queries.

From The Guardian

Corden’s deliriously funny “One Man, Two Guvnors” airs Friday, a slapstick farce about a simpleminded guy who juggles errands for two underworld bosses in an English seaside town in the 1960s.

From Washington Times

Corden’s deliriously funny “One Man, Two Guvnors” airs Friday, a slapstick farce about a simpleminded guy who juggles errands for two underworld bosses in an English seaside town in the 1960s.

From Seattle Times